Mechanical Organ

Chapter III: Beethoven’s Works for Mechanical Organ

Beethoven’s works for mechanical organ are among his most interesting organ works. Six pieces are most commonly included in discussions of the mechanical genre. Only five are included in Georg Kinsky and Hans Halm’s Das Werk Beethovens: Thematisch-bibliographisches Verzeichnis seiner sämtlichen vollendeten Kompositionen, where they are entitled “Fünf Stücke für die Flötenuhr, WoO 33.” [1] The sixth piece, listed in Willly Hess’s Verzeichnis der nicht in der Gesamtausgabe veröffentlichten Werke Beethovens, is the Grenadiers Marsch for Flötenuhr (Hess 107). [2] Two works not commonly considered are an Adagio for Mechanical Secretary and the panharmonicon version of Wellington’s Sieg oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria (Hess 108). This chapter will discuss these works and compare and evaluate related research in an attempt to establish or confute their validity as organ pieces.

The Flötenuhr (Spieluhr)

The Flötenuhr of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries commonly consisted of one or two small ranks of four- or two-foot flute pipes, whose valves were actuated by a rotating wooden barrel driven by the pull of gravity on a series of weights. Raised areas on the barrels (something like stubby wooden pegs) opened valves to the respective pipes as the barrel rotated. A clock was often used in conjunction with the barrel organ to make it play automatically every hour or thirty minutes. [3]

During the period 1750-1850, Flötenuhren were commonly found in castles, restaurants, and museums, particularly in Austria since the mechanical instrument industry was centered in Vienna. It was here that Beethoven, as well as Haydn and Mozart, wrote his pieces for the Flötenuhr.

Fünf Stücke für die Flötenuhr (WoO 33)

The five pieces of WoO 33 are actually two unrelated sets of pieces from two separate manuscripts. The first three–Adagio in F Major, Scherzo (Allegro No. 2) in G Major, and Allegro in G Major–are part of Manuscript Grasnick 23 in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek (DDR). The remaining two works, an Allegro and an Allegretto (Minuet) in C Major, constitute Manuscript Artaria 186 in the same library. Since the five pieces are actually two separate groups, they will be so treated in this chapter.

WoO 33, nos. 1-3

History

The first three pieces for Flötenuhr were originally identified by Albert Kopfermann in the March 1902 issue of Die Musik. Until that time they had been known only by their title in the Beethoven auction catalog under item 184: “Clavierstücke mit Begleitung, zum Teil unbekannt.” The three pieces are the “unknown part”; the known pieces are the four-hand piano variations on “Ich denke dein” WoO 74), first published in Vienna in 1805. [4] Beethoven wrote the variations for Josephine and Therese Brunsvik, according to his own dedication of 23 May 1799. [5] On 29 June 1799 Josephine Brunsvik married Count Joseph Deym von Střitetž, owner of a famous Viennese art gallery called the Müllerische Kunstcabinet. It was for Flötenuhren in Deym’s gallery that Mozart had written at least three works: Adagio and Allegro in F Minor/Major (K. 594), Fantasie in F Minor (K. 608), and Andante in F Major (K. 616). [6]

At his death Beethoven owned copies of the first two of Mozart’s pieces. [7] Kopfermann was the first to suggest that Beethoven obtained them from Deym to use as patterns for similar pieces of his own. When he gave his new pieces to Deym, Beethoven included the piano variations for Deym’s future wife and sister-in-law. [8] Unfortunately none of Deym’s Flötenuhren are extant, [9] so there is no way of ascertaining whether or not the three pieces were ever actually played on a mechanical instrument. [10]

Manuscript Grasnick 23

Autograph Grasnick 23 has ten folios, written in ink with corrections in ink and pencil. Folios 1-4 and 6 are twelve-stave manuscript paper in oblong format; ff. 5 and 7-10 are sixteen-stave paper.

The Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1) occupies the first four folios. The lower half of f. 4r and all of f. 4v are blank. The piece is notated in four-stave braces–three staves in treble clef, one in bass clef. In the upper left-hand corner of f. 1r are the words “Adagio assai”; at the top right is Beethoven’s signature.

Folio 5 contains the Scherzo (Allegro No. 2) in G Major (WoO 33, no. 2) on sixteen-stave paper. In the upper left-hand corner of f. 5r are the words “Allegro No 2 / Scherzo.” Further to the right, but left of center, are the words “Statt No” or “Statt N 3,” followed by a large figure eight. The piece is written in two-stave braces, all in treble clef, with an unused staff between each brace. On f. 5r, staves 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 16 are skipped, but frequently contain what appear to be sketch fragments of other works. The Scherzo occupies only the first five staves of f. 5v (the third line is blank); the remaining eleven lines contain more sketch fragments.

The Allegro in G Major (WoO 33, no. 3) occupies f. 6, on twelve-line manuscript paper similar to ff. 1-4. The word “Allegro” appears at the beginning of the piece. Six two-stave braces occupy all twelve lines of f. 6r–no lines are skipped. Folio 6v has only four braces–lines 3, 6, 9, and 12 are unused. The Allegro is the most legible of the three pieces.

Ernst Simon points out that the three Flötenuhr pieces are not in chronological order in the manuscript. Because the Adagio and the Allegro are written on twelve-line paper and the Scherzo (Allegro No. 2) and the variations on sixteen-line paper, he therefore maintains that the sixteen-line folios must have been added to the Adagio and Allegro at a later date. [12] Hess agrees with Simon; in his edition of the three pieces, the order is: Adagio assai (WoO 33, no. 1), Allegro (WoO 33, no. 3), and Scherzo (WoO 33, no. 2). [13]

Hess believes there may be another Flötenuhr piece belonging to the group, now lost. He interprets the words “Statt No 8” or “Statt N 3” on folio 5r (at the beginning of the Scherzo) as indicating that the Scherzo is perhaps a substitute for another piece, identified as number three or eight. [14]

Editions

The works for Flötenuhr are included in their original staff arrangement in the seventh volume of Hess’s Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe. [15] Despite several engraving errors, the Hess edition is the most authoritative. [16] The Adagio, more popular than the Scherzo or Allegro, is available separately in a number of transcriptions, for violin and piano, cello and piano, wind ensemble, piano solo, and organ. [17]

The organ is probably the instrument most capable of approaching the effect produced by a Flötenuhr. Yet the three works were not published for organ until 1962, in an edition by Ludwig Altman. [18] The Adagio was the most difficult to transcribe because it necessitated reducing the original four staves to the three of organ scores. In some places the Altman version includes all the notes of the original. Often, however, notes are omitted, as shown in figures 25a and 25b.

In this example the notes of the original second staff are not missed because they are doubled at the unison or octave in the third staff. Altman at other times uses the organ’s octave stops to approach the original effect. In measure 49 he has reduced the turn to a unison and omitted the third; in measure 50 the pedals are reduced to a unison (figs. 26a and 26b).

The Scherzo and Allegro have not enjoyed the Adagio’s popularity. They appear in Altman’s edition in the order assigned by Kinsky, with no alterations necessary. Their notes are easily within the grasp of an organist.

The transition between the first and second themes in the exposition is omitted in the recapitulation. The sixteenth-note accompaniment of the exposition becomes a sixteenth-note sextuplet accompaniment in the recapitulation (figs. 29a and 29b).

Fig. 29a. Principal theme of Beethoven’s Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1) as it occurs in the exposition, mm. 1-2Fig. 29b. Principal theme of Beethoven’s Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1) as it occurs in the recapitulation, mm. 50-51

The Adagio was written for an exceptionally large instrument, one with a range of at least F-d”’ and two separately sounding ranks. The two upper and the two lower staves would have been assigned to the two ranks respectively. That the two inside staves were on separate ranks is certain because one of the staves frequently has notes of shorter duration while the other staff has the same pitches sustained. In measure 5 (fig. 30), for instance, the pitches c’, d’, and f’ on the third staff would be inaudible if played on the same set of pipes as the chords of the second staff.

Fig. 30. Beethoven’s Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1), mm. 5-7

Such unison overlapping occurs only between the two inside staves. In measure 49 a case of apparent overlapping within the two upper staves turns out to be possible on a single rank (fig. 31): Beethoven was careful to place a staccato dot beneath the c” in the top staff of measure 49 so that it would release simultaneously with the same note in the second staff as it moves downward to b’.

Fig. 31. Beethoven’s Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1), mm. 48-49

The lower two staves have no overlapping at all and are playable on a single rank. This is further indicated by the fact that the two lower voices are frequently written on the lower staff in the autograph leaving the third staff blank with no apparent concern for assignment to separate ranks (figs. 32a and 32b).

The A section is a non-modulating simple rounded binary form. The second part (i.e., theme b) of the first section introduces no new thematic material, but simply anticipates the return of the first theme.

The trio is in simple binary form, likewise monothematic. The entire section is in the dominant. Beethoven uses a da capo to return to the A section; Altman writes out the return, but includes repeat signs, which would normally be omitted.

The Scherzo was intended for a smaller instrument than the Adagio. It has a range of g-d”’ and can be played on a single rank of pipes.

Allegro in G Major (WoO 33, no. 3)

The Allegro is in compound ternary form, but is more fully developed than the Scherzo because of the introduction of variation at the return of the A section, the use of more keys, and the addition of a coda (fig. 35).

section

A

B

A

theme

a

:||: b:||

||: c:||

||: d:||

a

a'

b'

a''

coda

key

G

D

G

C

G

G

mm.

1

8

16

24

40

49

57

61

64

Fig. 36. Opening theme of Beethoven’s Allegro in G Major (WoO 33, no.

The A and B sections are simple binary form. The B section is somewhat unusual in its use of the subdominant key. The third section parallels the first, but has no repeats. Instead the material is written out and altered.

Like the Scherzo, the Allegro has a range of g-d”’ and is playable on a single rank of pipes. It therefore seems safe to assume that the Allegro was written for the same Flötenuhr as the Scherzo.

Mozart’s influence on WoO 33, nos. 1-3

Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1)

A comparison of the Adagio with Mozart’s works for Flötenuhr, K. 594, 608, and 616, [20] substantiates Kopfermann’s theses regarding the identity and origin of the works. Figure 37a shows that Beethoven’s Adagio and Mozart’s K. 594 have identical ranges, tonal centers, notation, and form. Both works were probably composed for the same instrument, which, according to Otto Erich Deutsch, was the Flötenuhr in the Lauden Mausoleum in Deym’s art gallery.

Fig. 37a. Comparison of Mozart's K. 594 and Beethoven's WoO 33, no. 1

Mozart, K. 594

Beethoven, WoO 33, no. 1

length:

153 mm.

79 mm.

range:

F-d'''

F-d'''

staves per brace:

4

4 (3 in treble, 1 in bass clef)

form:

sonata

sonata

keys:

f, F

F

Fig. 37b. Comparison of Mozart's K. 608 and Beethoven's WoO 33, no. 2

Mozart, K. 608

Beethoven, WoO 33, no. 2

length:

222 mm.

102 mm.

range:

c-d-flat'''

g-d'''

staves per brace:

4 (3 in treble, 1 in bass clef)

2 (in treble clef)

form:

rondo or sonata-rondo (?)

scherzo and trio

keys:

f, A-flat

G

Fig. 37c. Comparison of Mozart's K. 616 and Beethoven's WoO 33, no. 3

Mozart, K. 616

Beethoven, WoO 33, no. 3

length:

144 mm.

80 mm.

range:

f-f'''

g-d'''

staves per brace:

3 (in treble clef)

2 (in treble clef)

form:

seven-part simple or rondo

compound ternary

key:

F

G

Although contemporary Viennese newspapers link the Mozart piece to that clock, there are, however, no similar accounts regarding the Adagio, and the Laudon Mausoleum is no longer extant. [21]

Beethoven’s Adagio bears fewer similarities to K. 608. The Adagio extends a perfect fifth lower, suggesting that the two were intended for different instruments. Nevertheless K.608 was written for a large instrument, one with at least two independently controlled ranks. Like the Adagio, K. 608 has frequent unison overlappings between the voices of the inside staves (fig. 39).

Fig. 39. Mozart’s Fantasie in F Minor (K. 608), mm. 20-22

Therefore, though the two works may have been written for different instruments, both Flötenuhren were large enough to have had at least two independent ranks.

Beethoven likely chose K. 594 as a formal pattern for the Adagio because its form was much simpler than that of K. 608. The latter work is a technical tour de force (fig. 40).

Fig. 40. Formal analysis of Mozart's Fantasie in F Minor (K. 608)

section

measure

thematic material

key

Allegro (Expo?)

1

A

F minor

13

B (fugal)

F minor (modulatory)

59

A'

F-sharp minor/F minor

Andante (Dev?)

75

C

A-flat major

91

A''

E-flat major

103

C'

A-flat major

a110

D

E-flat major

123

C''

A-flat major

a131

E

E-flat major

143

C'''

A-flat major

Tempo I (Recap?)

159

A

A-flat major

171

B'

F minor

200

A'''

F minor

205

A/B

F minor

Its first B section is a full-blown fugue, complete with episodes and contrapuntal inversion. In the corresponding section of the third part, countersubjects, augmentation, diminution, fragmentation, and stretto are employed to bring the work to a climactic close.

Although the Adagio and K. 594 are formally alike, their principal themes do not appear related (figs. 41a and 41b).

The Adagio’s principal theme bears some resemblance to the opening theme of K. 608, particularly in its use of the turn (fig. 43).

Fig. 43. Opening text of Mozart’s Fantasie in F Minor (K. 608)

Scherzo and Allegro in G Major

There is no apparent relationship between Beethoven’s Scherzo and Allegro (WoO 33, nos. 2-3) and Mozart’s pieces for mechanical clock. As shown in figure 37, both the Beethoven works are in compound ternary form, notated on two staves in treble clef, with identical ranges. Although obviously related to each other, the pieces do not show the influence of Mozart’s pieces or Beethoven’s Adagio.

WoO 33, nos. 4-5

Origin

Thayer, in his Chronologisches Verzeichniss der Werke Ludwig van Beethoven’s, was the first to list the Allegro and Allegretto (Minuet) in C Major as possible works for mechanical clock. Although Thayer himself expressed doubt regarding their authenticity, [22] Kinsky accepted this listing in compiling his Verzeichnis. Kinsky not only grouped them with the three pieces (WoO 33, nos. 1-3), but erroneously assigned them to the Deym Flötenuhren. [23]

Actually very little is known regarding these two pieces. Their manuscript bears no title, and all attempts at dating them have been unsuccessful. Furthermore, there is really no evidence that establishes them as Flötenuhr pieces. Simon convincingly discredits any claim they have to the Flötenuhr. He points out that Beethoven’s use of alto and tenor clefs, transpositional errors in writing in those clefs, and numerous abbreviations would have been difficult for anyone but a musician to decipher–it would have been impossible for most technicians to set the pieces up on barrels. Simon concludes that they are more likely intended for keyboard instrument and points out that Georg Schünemann, in his edition of all five Stücke für die Spieluhr, [24] had only to change the clefs of the pieces to modern clefs to make them playable on the piano. Much more editing was necessary on the three pieces. [25]

Hess suggests that the two pieces are likely nothing more than exercises in transposition and writing in clefs. [26] Apparently Altman is also convinced that they are not authentic because he omits them in his edition of the Beethoven organ works while including the three pieces. [27]

Manuscript Artaria 186

Autograph Artaria 186 consists of four sixteen-stave folios written in ink. The Allegro in C Major (WoO 33, no. 4) occupies ff. 1r-2r. At the top of f. 1r is the inscription “Allegro non più molto di Beethoven.” Notation is in two-stave braces, alto and tenor clefs.

The Allegretto (Minuet) in C Major (WoO 33, no. 5) occupies f. 2v and a fourth of f. 3r. The word “Allegretto” appears at the beginning. Notation is likewise in two-stave braces, alto and tenor clefs. Folios 3v-4v are blank. [28]

Conclusion

It seems safe to conclude, in view of the absence of any evidence to the contrary, that the two pieces for Flötenuhr (WoO 33, nos. 4-5) are not actually for mechanical organ and are therefore not legitimate organ works.

Grenadiers Marsch for Flötenuhr (Hess 107)

Barrel seven of the badly damaged Flötenuhr no. 2061 in the music instrument museum of the Karl-Marx-Universität in Leipzig is the sole source for the “Grenadirs [sic] Marsch arranchirt von Herrn Ludwig v. Beethoven.” The composition is an arrangement of two earlier works, connected by a newly composed transition. The earlier works are a march by Haydn originally scored for two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns (Hob. VIII:6) and later for Flötenuhr (Hob. XIX:25), and a march by Beethoven for two clarinets, two horns, and two bassoons (WoO 29).

History

Flötenuhr no. 2061

Flötenuhr no. 2061 was constructed in Vienna by Franz Egidius Arzt [29] for Prince Joseph Johann zu Schwarzenberg, [30] a friend of Beethoven. Standing nearly three meters, the instrument has a mahogany case in Empire style with bronze metal work, alabaster columns, miniature portraits, wedgewood paintings, and a carved vase at the the top containing the clock. The clock’s face bears the inscription “Franz Egidius Arzt in Vienn aus der Zeit um 1810.” The Flötenuhr, which plays every hour, has two ranks comprising seventy-nine flute pipes. The stopped four-foot and the open two-foot registers were employed either separately or together for variety in dynamics. [31]

Although the clock dates from 1810, only the first four barrels, and perhaps the seventh (undated), could have been made by that year. The pieces on barrels five, six, and eight were not composed until 1812, 1818, and 1819, and therefore must have been added to the instrument at a later date. [32]

The Spieluhr was acquired from the estate of the Schwarzenberg family in the late nineteenth century by the Leipzig collector Paul de Wit, who listed it as item 751 in his Katalog des Musikhistorischen Museums.[33] The de Wit collection was purchased by Wilhelm Heyer of Cologne, who in 1906 included it in his three-floor museum at Worringer Strasse 23 in Cologne. Heyer died in 1913, and his massive collection, which included over 2,600 musical instruments, 20,000 music autographs, and 3,500 portraits, was sold during the following thirteen years. The autograph and portrait collections were auctioned to numerous buyers; the instrument collection, however, remained intact and was purchased by the German government with the financial aid of Henri Hinrichsen, head of the publishing firm C.F. Peters. The collection was given to the Universität Leipzig and housed in the newly constructed Grassi-Museum. [34]

The museum flourished until 3 December 1943, when a bomb fell on its north wing, destroying or severely damaging much of the collection. [35] Of the museum’s twenty-four mechanical instruments, eleven were completely destroyed; the remaining thirteen were badly damaged. Nine of those thirteen have since been restored, but the remaining four, including Flötenuhr no. 2061, remain in a warehouse in an unplayable state. [36]

The piece

There is no record of Beethoven composing the Grenadiers Marsch. The piece can be assigned a date, however, by studying the works upon which it is based.

Haydn’s march (Hob. VIII:6 and XIX:25)

The opening twenty measures of the Grenadiers Marsch are based on Haydn’s March in E-flat Major for two clarinets, two bassoons, and two horns (Hob. VIII:6), later transposed to D major for a Flötenuhr (Hob. XIX:25). The original piece was composed for the Esterházy’s Eisenstadt Military Band no later than 1793, because in that year Peter Primitivius Niemicz, librarian for Prince Anton II Esterházy, included the D major version on the 1793 Flötenuhr, the third and last of the Haydn clocks. [37]

Beethoven’s March in B-flat Major (WoO 29)

Measures 37-56 of the Grenadiers Marsch are based on Beethoven’s own March in B-flat Major for two clarinets, two horns, and two bassoons (WoO 29). Ernst Fritz Schmid suggests that Beethoven wrote the march for the Esterházy Military Band 10-16 September 1807 while visiting Eisenstadt for the first performance of his C Major Mass, op. 86. In Eisenstadt Beethoven may have heard Haydn’s march and could have written one similar to it. [38]

Date of the Grenadiers Marsch

The Grenadiers Marsch cannot be dated earlier than 1807. Hess suggests that it was written no later than 1819–when the work on barrel no. 8 of Flötenuhr no. 2061 was composed. [39] If it was composed after 1812, the year Arzt died, then the seventh barrel would have been added to the instrument by Arzt’s son Joseph, who inherited his father’s business. [40] Kinsky dates the piece circa 1825. [41]

Manuscripts

There are no extant manuscripts for the complete Grenadiers Marsch. There are, however, manuscripts of the two marches on which the arrangement is based.

Haydn’s march

The autograph of the original E-flat major version of Haydn’s march (Hob. VIII:6) is in the Bibiothèque Nationale, Fonds du Conservatoire. It is in oblong format, consisting of a large sheet of ten-stave paper folded in half. The piece is written on ff. 1v-2r; ff. 1r and 2v are blank. There are no titles or tempo indications on the manuscript. Folio 1r bears the seal of Charles Malherbe, from whose estate the library acquired the item. [42]

There is no known manuscript of the Flötenuhr version (Hob. XIX:25). [43]

Beethoven’s march

The original autograph of Beethoven’s March in B-flat (WoO 29) is contained in the last part of Manuscript Grasnick 25 in the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek (DDR). The first seven folios of the fifteen-folio manuscript contain Beethoven’s Allegretto in C Minor for Piano (WoO 53); ff. 8-11 contain the Adagio in E-flat Major for Mandolin and Cembalo (WoO 43, no. 2).

The march appears on ff. 12r and 15v, both of which are sixteen-stave manuscript paper. At the top of f. 12r are the words “Marcia Vivace”; then follows the march in piano score. Folios 12v-15r are blank. Folio 15v contains the march written in score for the six wind instruments, with a note at the bottom: “due Clarinetti in B, Corni in B, Fagotti.” At the top of the page are the words: “in D übe[r]sezt mit trio in der Mitte Kanonen / schluss.” [44]

Beethoven’s reminder to transpose his march to D major and compose a middle section is probably an indication of how the Grenadiers Marsch was composed. The Flötenuhr version of Haydn’s march was in D major. Beethoven had probably already written his march in he key of B-flat when he realized that Haydn’s was in D major and so wrote a reminder at the top of his march to transpose it, then composing the middle section. The D major Grenadiers Marsch was later transposed to F major either by Beethoven or by the barrelmaker to better match the range of the Schwarzenberg clock.

Printed editions

Grenadiers Marsch

Both editions of the Grenadiers Marsch are based on a transcription completed prior to World War II by J. G. Bach of Troisdorf. His transcription, based aurally and through examination of the barrel itself, [45] was first published by Kinsky in the Beethoven-Almanach der Deutschen Musikbücherei auf das Jahr 1927. [46] Hess published the work a second time in volume seven of his Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe.[47] When Hess examined Flötenuhr no. 2061 and its barrel no. 7, he found them so badly damaged that it was impossible to check the accuracy of Bach’s transcription. His edition is therefore based solely on the Bach version. [48]

Haydn’s march

The original E-flat major version of Haydn’s march is still unpublished. [49] The Flötenuhr version is the twenty-fifth piece in Schmid’s transcription of Haydn’s complete Werke für das Laufwerk (Flötenuhr). [50]

Beethoven’s march (WoO 29)

Beethoven’s March in E-flat Major for six wind instruments (WoO 29) appears in the final volume of the Gesamtausgabe. [51] No other editions have been published.

Analysis

Form

As shown in figure 45, the Grenadiers Marsch is made up of three sections: 1) measures 1-20 are based on Haydn’s march; 2) measures 21-36 are a newly composed transition; and 3) measures 37-56 are based on Beethoven’s own WoO 29.

Fig. 45. Formal Analysis of Beethoven's Grenadiers Marsch (Hess 107)

section

A

B

C

theme

a

:||:

b

:||

c

d

c'

||: d

:||:

e

:||

leu

F

C

F

F

F

measure

1

11

21

27

31

37

45

The first and third major sections are in simple binary form, with repeat signs marking the sub-sections. The transition is in simple ternary form. A modulation occurs only once during the entire piece: the opening part of the Haydn section modulates to the dominant.

Comparison with the original sources of the Grenadiers Marsch

Haydn: section one

Haydn’s original March in E-flat Major for six wind instruments (Hob. VIII:6) is unpublished. However, a comparison of the incipit from the Hoboken Werkverzeichnis with the corresponding measures of the Schmid transcription of the Flötenuhr version reveals several variants. As shown in figure 46, the initial anacrusis of the piece is altered in the Flötenuhr version; the anacrusis to measure 3, present in the original version, is omitted altogether in the Flötenuhr version. In measure 4, instead of jumping down an octave, the melody of the latter version remains on the same note.

Fig. 46a. Opening measures of the wind ensemble version of Haydn’s march (Hob. VIII:6)Fig. 46a. Opening measures of the Flötenuhr version of Haydn’s march (Hob. XIX:25)

A comparison of the above measures with the corresponding measures of the Grenadiers Marsch seems to indicate it is the Flötenuhr version of Haydn’s march that Beethoven used (fig. 47).

Fig. 47. Opening measures of Beethoven’s Grenadiers Marsch (Hess 107)

In the three places where notable differences were found between the two Haydn versions, the Grenadiers Marsch more clearly matches the Flötenuhr version.

The time signature for Haydn’s piece is two-four; Beethoven’s arrangement is in common time. The difference is insignificant, however, as both pieces were transcribed aurally in their modern editions. Beethoven would moreover have had no way of knowing the exact meter when (and if) he heard Haydn’s march on the Flötenuhr in Eisenstadt.

The first ten measures of the Grenadiers Marsch correspond to the first twenty measures of Haydn’s piece. Beethoven repeated the first ten measures; Haydn apparently wrote out the repeat because measures 3-4 are varied the second time through.

Beethoven uses Haydn’s melody very freely. There are alterations in measures 4, 7-9, 12-16, and 18-20. In measure 11 Beethoven replaces a rhythmically uneven five-note figure with even quintuplets (figs. 48a and 48b).

Fig. 48a. Beethoven’s Grenadiers Marsch (Hess 107), mm. 10-12

Fig. 48b. Haydn’s March in D Major (Hob. XIX:25), mm. 10-12

In measure 12 a similar seven-note figure is replaced by even sextuplets. In measures 18-19 the melodic contour is drastically altered (figs. 49a and 49b).

Though the harmony is unchanged, the spacing and placement of the harmonizing parts are altered in every measure. This is undoubtedly due to the extended lower range of the Grenadiers Marsch, which allows more open position in the harmony. The lowest pitch in Haydn’s Flötenuhr march is g; in Beethoven’s arrangement it is F.

Beethoven’s WoO 29: section three

Beethoven’s treatment of material in the third section of the Grenadiers Marsch is similar to that in the first. Although the melodic contour is unaltered, the melodic rhythm is changed in measures 38, 40-42, 44, 46, 48, and 56.

The lower voices maintain the original harmony, but are everywhere altered. In measure 51, for instance, an ascending scale passage is introduced into the arrangement (figs. 50a and 50b).

The Grenadiers Marsch as an organ work

Although not included in many discussions of Beethoven’s organ works, the Grenadiers Marsch is certainly suited for organ performance. Furthermore, it may be legitimately included in the corpus of Beethoven’s organ work even though a section originally stems from Haydn. Beethoven never claimed the piece as entirely original, only as an arrangement. In that arrangement he introduced enough variation to merit its inclusion as an authentic Beethoven organ work.

Adagio for Mechanical Secretary

A possible Beethoven organ work is to be found on barrel no. 13 of a mahogany secretary with Flötenuhr in the music instrument museum of the Karl-Marx-Universität in Leipzig. The instrument, which dates from the year 1812, [52] was the joint effort of a Viennese cabinet maker named Christian Seyffert and the famous inventor Johann Nepomuk Mälzel. Its two ranks (four- and two-foot) are comprised of eighty-four stopped and open wooden flute pipes. It was first displayed in Mälzel’s art collection in Vienna during the winter of 1812-13. [53] The instrument was acquired by de Wit in the late nineteenth century and given the number 752. [54] In the Heyer Museum it was given its present number, 2060. Like Spieluhr no. 2061 it was badly damaged in World War II and has not yet been restored. [55]

Barrel no. 13 bears the following inscription: “Adagio / comp. del Sig. van Beethoven.” Simon points out that it actually contains the second and third movements of Beethoven’s Sonata in E-flat Major for Violin and Piano, op. 12, no. 3, composed in 1799 (figs. 52a and 52b). [56] During the years 1812-13 Beethoven frequented Mälzel’s shop [57] and perhaps agreed to let the inventor use the sonata in the secretary.

Unfortunately the secretary version is not available in either manuscript or published score and is not likely to become so because the instrument is very badly damaged. The piece cannot therefore be analyzed to determine whether the secretary version should be included in the corpus of Beethoven’s organ works.

Origin

One further piece is occasionally included in discussions of Beethoven’s works for mechanical instruments. This is his piece celebrating the victory of the English armies commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, over the French forces under Jean-Baptiste Jourdan at a battle near Vitoria, Spain, on 21 June 1813. [58]

When word of Wellington’s victory reached Vienna on 27 July 1813, Mälzel was eager to take advantage of the victory during his forthcoming tour of England and asked Beethoven to write a work for his panharmonicon. In October 1813 Beethoven, under Mälzel’s supervision, completed the score. Unable to transcribe the piece for his instrument, Mälzel returned the score, suggesting that Beethoven expand it into a battle fantasy for orchestra. Beethoven added an eight-measure introduction and string parts to the score, and it became the second section of his Battle Symphony, Wellington’s Victory, op. 91. [59]

The work was never performed by the panharmonicon. It was, however, performed in its original version by live musicians on 8 and 12 December 1813 at the University of Vienna for an audience of war invalids. [60]

Edition

A first edition of the panharmonicon version, edited by Hess, has recently been published in volume four of the Supplemente zur Gesamtausgabe. The piece is scored for the following instruments: piccolo, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, contrabassoon, horns, trumpets, trombones, timpani, Türkish Teller, snare drum, bass drum, and organ (fig. 53). [62]

Wellington’s Sieg as an organ work

The panharmonicon version of Wellington’s Sieg is inconceivable as an organ work without substantial reduction of the original score. Even on an organ possessing stops corresponding to Beethoven’s instrumentation, the manipulation of stops and rapid manual changes required to perform the work would be difficult, and more probably impossible. Wellington’s Sieg is therefore not practical as an organ work.

Conclusion

Of the works for mechanical instruments attributed to Beethoven, only five may be considered legitimate organ works. They are:

Adagio in F Major (WoO 33, no. 1)

Scherzo (Allegro No. 2) in G Major (WoO 33, no. 1)

Allegro in G Major (WoO 33, no. 3)

Grenadiers Marsch in F Major (Hess 107)

Adagio for Mechanical Secretary

Only the first four are extant.

The Allegro and Allegretto (Minuet) in C Major (WoO 33, nos. 4-5) are not legitimate organ works, despite their designation as such by Thayer, Schünemann, and Kinsky. The panharmonicon version of Wellington’s Sieg oder die Schlacht bei Vittoria is inconceivable as an organ work because the effects cannot be manually achieved on the instrument.

[7] Beethoven had one copy of Mozart’s Adagio and Allegro in F Minor/Major (K. 594) and two copies of his Fantasie in F Minor (K. 608)–one in a second hand, another in Beethoven’s own hand. Ibid., p. 84.

[20] Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Werke, 61 vols. (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1877-1905; reprint ed., New York: Kalmus, n.d.), series 10, nos. 19-20; series 24, no. 27a. The version of K.594 in series 24, no. 27a, is an arrangement for two pianos, four hands. According to Simon, p. 70, a MS scored for Flötenuhr is in the New York Public Library.

[37] Haydn wrote thirty-two pieces for Flötenuhr (Hob. XIX:1-32). The first thirty were played on instruments still extant: the clocks of 1772, 1792, and 1793. The last two pieces are known only in MS. Anthony van Hoboken, Joseph Haydn: Thematisch-bibliographisches Werkverzeichnis, 2 vols. (Mainz: Schott, 1957-71), 1:545.